


Fire on the Mountain

by motherbearof3



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Family, Fluff, Love, Mild Smut, Romance, brief angst, winter activities
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2019-01-12
Packaged: 2019-10-01 10:08:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17242319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/motherbearof3/pseuds/motherbearof3
Summary: Rafael takes Olivia and Noah on a winter vacation to the Adirondack Mountains. A week of ski and snow and, if Rafael has his way, some romance.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [scintillateworld](https://archiveofourown.org/users/scintillateworld/gifts).



> Written for thebarsondaily Secret Santa 2018. 
> 
> This is a short spinoff from Enchanted, in which the chapter when Sheila Porter kidnaps Noah, Rafael tells Olivia once they get him back he’s going to take them away somewhere. If you haven’t read Enchanted, it starts at the end of S18 but instead of Olivia turning him down for a cocktail, they end up sharing pizza and wine at her place and it goes from there, the way we’ve all wanted.

It took a little work, but Rafael finally convinced his favorite SVU Lieutenant to get out of the city. She’d already scheduled the time off, he said, and he’d promised that day in her office that once they found Noah, he was taking them away somewhere, and he wasn’t about to break that promise. New York City to Lake Placid, NY was about a five hour drive if you drove straight through with no stops. But with a six year old in the car, stops were inevitable, even if you had snacks. And with Rafael Barba in the car, you were required to have snacks. So what the GPS said would take them 4 hours and 48 minutes, ended up taking closer to 7 hours when it was all said and done.

Rafael, Olivia and Noah left bright and early a few days after Christmas for their first vacation together. He was at the wheel, with Olivia beside him and Noah belted into his booster seat in the back. It wasn’t a hard drive. The majority of the trip was on I-87, a road that both he and Olivia were familiar with because it led to the state capital of Albany. The first few minutes as the lawyer navigated them out of city, Noah chattered away behind him about the things he saw out the window of the rented SUV. Olivia had rolled her eyes at the vehicle when he pulled up at the curb, but Rafael told her they didn’t know what kind of weather there would be in the Adirondack mountains that time of year. But the woman beside him was quiet.

“Liv? Everything okay?” 

He reached over and put his right hand over her left that rested on her leg. 

“What? Yes, everything’s fine. I’m just doing a mental checklist to make sure we didn’t forget anything.” She flipped her hand to lace her fingers with his. 

Lifting their joined hands Rafael kissed the back of hers.

“ _ Mi amor,  _ I saw everything you packed in those suitcases. I’m sure you forgot nothing,” he said with a chuckle.

“Momma, did you bring Eddie?” piped up Noah, referring to his favorite stuffed animal. 

“He’s in your backpack,” his mother assured him. The boy reached over and opened the bag, pulling out the well loved elephant and sitting him on his lap so he could “look” out the window.

Despite her words that everything was fine, Olivia insides fluttered with both nervousness and excitement. They had taken day trips over the summer, but she had never gone away with Rafael before, let alone the three of them together. Noah was a well behaved child, but he was still just a six year old; and two adults and a child together in one hotel room for a week could be stressful. But it had been a long time since she’d last had a vacation. In fact, it was when Tucker had taken them to Paris and that was not exactly one to remember. It was that time away when she realized it wasn’t going to work between the two of them.

She had no concerns about that with Rafael. They had been together since May, and had recently disclosed their relationship to both the DA and 1PP; neither department having a problem with it unless they ran into a conflict of interest. She was also looking forward to spending some time alone with no interference from work for either of them. As second in command, Fin Tutuola had orders to contact her only in the utmost emergency and she knew he probably wouldn’t even then. Next to Amanda Rollins, Fin was the biggest supporter of her and the assistant district attorney’s relationship. There had been no talk of a permanent future, but for the first time, Olivia could actually see herself spending the rest of her life with Rafael. Hadn’t she told him they’d still be squabbling when they were 85? 

They had been driving for a few hours when out of the blue Noah asked from his spot in the back,

“Will we see deer in these mountains like I did with Grandma Sheila?”

Olivia froze for a moment at the mention of the woman who had abducted Noah and taken him to New Hampshire earlier that month; creating two of the most terrifying days of her life as a mother. Before she could answer, Rafael reached over, put a hand on her leg and said, 

“I’ll bet we will,  _ mijo _ .” Then he skillfully changed the subject. “Are you ready to learn how to ski?”

She quietly let out the breath she didn’t realize she was holding and covered his hand with hers when Noah, successfully distracted, replied, 

“Yes! Can I learn how to snowboard too? Do you know how to snowboard?”

“I tried once and wasn’t very good at it. I prefer skiing. Let’s start with that first, okay?”

“Okay. Can I have a snack please?”

Her fears mollified that her son wouldn’t ask any more questions about Grandma Sheila for the time being, Olivia dug into her oversized tote for the fish-shaped crackers she’d packed and handed a small bag of them to the boy, placing a second one in the outstretched hand of the driver, who rewarded her with a crooked grin. She and Rafael only provided him with the most general of information regarding those two days: that his grandmother hadn’t told them she wanted to take him on a vacation and everyone had been very concerned when they couldn’t find him. He understood that Sheila had done something wrong and lied about it. Currently, she was under court ordered psychiatric evaluation to determine if she was fit to stand trial. Olivia didn’t care whether she was tried or took a plea; she just didn’t want to ever have to see her again. Rafael had been right: she wanted to believe Sheila’s intentions were honorable and, as a result, allowed herself to ignore the warning signs that they weren’t.

“Liv.”

Rafael’s voice drew her out of her contemplation over how she’d let herself be duped.

“Penny for your thoughts,” he offered, before tossing a cheese-flavored fish into his mouth.

“They weren’t even worth that.” She shook her head and he suspected he knew where her thoughts had been.

“Enough of that,” he instructed. “We’re on vacation. Look, it’s snowing. Noah, look, it’s snowing.”

When there was no answer from the back seat, Olivia turned to look and discovered the boy was asleep in his booster seat, his head pillowed on Eddie, the bag of crackers on the verge of spilling out of his hand.

“He’s sleeping,” she said, reaching back to rescue the snack. The last thing they needed was fish crackers ground into the carpet of the rental. 

“Why don’t you take a nap, too?” 

He reached over beneath her hair and massaged her neck. Olivia hummed with pleasure as his strong fingers worked the tension away. There were circles under her eyes from spending more time out of bed checking on Noah and watching him sleep than sleeping herself. Rafael had taken to spending nights at her apartment since The Sheila Incident as he mentally referred to it, and would frequently wake to find her side of the bed empty; and her standing in Noah’s doorway, shivering in bare feet and no robe. Like one would a sleepwalker, he’d take her by the hand and lead her back to their bed without a word; pulling her into his arms where she would immediately fall asleep.

“I could maybe do that,” she admitted, reaching behind her for the sweater he’d discarded as the vehicle warmed up. Olivia folded it into a makeshift pillow and reclined the seat just a bit. The sweater had the comforting smell of him and she smiled, nestling her head into it and closing her eyes. She held out her hand and he took it in his, resting them on the console between their seats. It wasn’t long before her breathing became slow and even and he knew she was asleep.

After giving her a loving glance, Rafael turned his eyes back to the highway in front of them where it was snowing a little harder, alone with his thoughts. Olivia wasn’t the only one who was a little nervous about this vacation, but his was for an entirely different reason. Nestled in his suitcase, tucked into a pair of socks just in case she went looking for something, was a small black box from a jeweler recommended by Rita Calhoun.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rafael, Olivia and Noah continue their drive to their vacation destination.

Both mother and son woke about the same time, just as they entered the Adirondack Park. Noah’s eyes grew wide at the tall pine trees that lined the two lane road, making it almost a tunnel. All three were surprised at the amount of snow on the ground, even though the roads were clear. Rafael turned into a convenience store that had gas pumps. He figured the boy probably needed a restroom and he wasn’t sure where the next place to fuel up would be. While Olivia took Noah inside, he filled the tank. They hadn’t returned by the time he was finished and he made his way into the store to discover the delay was caused by the six year old’s request for an ice cream cone and his mother’s denial.

“I want ice cream!”

Noah was using a tone Rafael had never heard before and Olivia looked equal parts shocked and embarrassed.

“Noah,” she began again, her tone firm. But the boy stomped his booted foot on the wood floor of the store and interrupted her.

“Ice cream!”

Rafael moved swiftly to the pair and crouched down to put himself on eye level with Noah. He didn’t touch him, but the eye contact alone gave the boy pause.

“That’s enough, _mijo,_ ” the man said quietly. “You are not getting ice cream. It’s too cold and we have snacks in the car.”

“But --”  Stubborn blue eyes met equally stubborn green ones.

“No buts. You and I are going to go back to the car while your mother gets me a cup of coffee.”

Rafael looked up at Olivia and she nodded.

“So you can either walk out of here or I can carry you out. Your choice.”

The lawyer stood, his knees protesting, making him wonder if he would survive a day on the slopes. After a moment, Noah put his mittened hand into Rafael’s gloved one.

“Good decision,” Rafael said and the two made their way out of the store.

At the vehicle, he lifted Noah back into his booster seat and helped him shed his outerwear but didn’t buckle him right away. Instead he turned and leaned against the door, looking up at the tall trees surrounding them and the snow that appeared knee-deep in places. Liv warned him being a parent wasn’t easy, but he told her the day after they first spent the night together that he wanted the whole Benson package. He’d had a taste of parenting when he talked with Noah back in the fall about being disrespectful but this was something new entirely. He blew out a breath, watching it fog in the cold air. _Where had this attitude come from_? he wondered. The two were silent for a few minutes before finally Noah spoke.

“Are you mad at me, Uncle Rafa?”

The man turned and fixed his green gaze on the boy.

“I’m not happy with the way you acted in there, Noah. Neither is your mom. But no, I’m not mad at you.”

“I’m sorry, Uncle Rafa,” said Noah. “I should apologize to Momma, too, shouldn’t I?”

“That would be a very good idea.” Rafael leaned into the car to kiss the boy’s curls and fasten the seatbelt. “Here she comes. Looks like she might have gotten us all something.”

Olivia was holding a cardboard drink carrier with three cups in it. Two large ones and a small one. Part of her felt like she was rewarding Noah’s behavior by getting him a hot chocolate, but she also felt sure Rafael had already addressed it. Her suspicions were correct, when as she rounded the vehicle to where the two were, her son said,

“I’m sorry, Momma. I shouldn’t have acted like that.”

Olivia handed the carrier to Rafael and put her arms around the boy in a tight hug.

“I’m glad you understand that was inappropriate behavior. I know you wanted ice cream, but how about some hot chocolate?”

She was curious to know what transpired between her son and the man beside her. Mindful of small ears, Olivia asked Noah if he wanted to watch a movie on her ipad. She had downloaded a couple of his favorites and a new one for the trip.

“We can do better than that,” said Rafael. He reached to the ceiling of the vehicle between the front and middle seats and flipped down a screen. Olivia raised her eyebrows. He’d certainly spared no expense on this rental.

“It comes with it. I didn’t request one that had it,” he said, reading her mind.

“A tv in the car!” exclaimed Noah with delight.

“Almost,” the man said, and explained how the ipad could be connected to display the movie . Wearing a pair of headphones from the console between the front seats and Noah was soon glued to the screen.

Once she was sure her son was fully engrossed in the movie, Olivia turned a little sideways in her seat to look at Rafael.

“What did you say to him when you took him out of the store?” she asked, keeping her voice low, even though she was sure Noah was engrossed in the cartoon.

“Nothing, really.” Rafael kept his eyes trained on the road as the snow was coming down harder now. “I was standing there, trying to think what I should say when he asked me if I was mad at him.

“I told him of course not, but I wasn’t happy with the way he behaved; neither were you.” He saw her nod approvingly in his peripheral vision. _One parenting point for him, Rafael thought, although he wished it was for something different._ “Then he apologized to me and asked if he should tell you he was sorry also. I said that was a good idea and then you came out of the store.”

“Why do you think he acted like that, Rafael?” Olivia asked with a sigh. “Am I coddling him too much since the Sheila thing? Letting him sleep with us? Not sending him back to school? I was half expecting to hear him say ‘Grandma Sheila’ would let him have ice cream.”

He took his eyes off the road momentarily to look at the woman he loved -- the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with -- when she suddenly shouted,

“Rafael! Deer!”

He whipped his head back forward to see three deer ambling across the road in front of them. His foot hit the brakes. Hard. There was enough snow on the pavement to make it slick and the SUV began to slide a little as the anti-lock brake system did its job. Noah had pulled his headphones off at the sound of his mother’s voice and saw the animals on the road.

“Don’t hit them, Uncle Rafa!” he cried.

The deer continued to walk across the road as the vehicle came to a stop and its occupants watched them make their way into the trees.

“Are you all right, Noah?” Rafael asked, looking at the boy in the rear view mirror.

“I’m fine. That was a deer family, wasn’t it? Two big ones and a little one,” he informed the adults.

Neither Olivia nor Rafael knew enough about the animals to confirm or deny his statement, so they said nothing as their heart rates returned to normal.

“Wasn’t it?” Noah repeated. “Like us. A momma deer, a Noah deer and --”

“An Uncle Rafa deer?” Rafael finished.

He wasn’t sure if the boy was going to say a daddy deer and he really didn’t want to see what Olivia’s reaction would be to that, because it would affect his decision to propose. If she was going to reject him, he didn’t want it to be in front of Noah. He shifted his foot from the brake pedal to the gas and they continued on their way. As if reading his mind, though, once Noah had put his headphones back on Olivia reached over and put her hand on his leg and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“I think he was going to say a daddy deer, Rafael,” she said softly.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio arrives at the vacation resort and Noah gets his first taste of skiing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whiteface Mountain is where the downhill skiing events took place when the 1980 Winter Olympics were held in Lake Placid, NY. I've been to the ski slope once, about 20 years ago when the hubs was still fit and sexy as hell on skis and junior took lessons there and at another ski slope near there. I am a very poor skier.
> 
> Whiteface Lodge is an actual place. Photos included at the end of the chapter. I have never been there, but now would like the hubs to take me. I've just learned how to insert photos, so if they're too big, my apologies.

Rafael didn’t want to take his eyes off of the snow covered road, but removed one hand from the steering wheel, took hers in his and lifted it to kiss it; the gesture helping to hold back the words, “Marry me” that wanted to spill from his lips, then returned their clasped hands to his leg. He’d have liked to take her in his arms and kiss her senseless but that would have to wait. At least he now had a better idea of what her reply would be when he finally popped the question.

It was nearly dusk by the time Rafael turned the SUV off of Route 86 into the driveway that lead to the Whiteface Lodge. When she saw the building appear as they rounded a curve, Olivia began to suspect their accommodations were going to be more than a standard motel room. The lodge loomed large before them as he pulled up to the entrance.

“It looks like it was made with Lincoln Logs!” said Noah.  Indeed, with its exposed beams, the mammoth structure did appear that way.

It was Olivia’s turn to be awed when Rafael unlocked the door to their accommodations. He had booked them into a two bedroom suite. The main floor had a large living area with a fireplace, comfortable furnishings, a dining table and small kitchen. It also housed a bedroom and bathroom that Rafael said would be Noah’s. Up a set of stairs was a second bedroom and bath, complete with a large jetted tub. Noah was bouncing around the suite, peering through windows and flopping on furniture while the adults carried in the luggage. After putting Noah’s bag in his room and seeing him turn on the television, Olivia made sure the suite door was securely locked and climbed the stairs to the second bedroom. It had a King sized bed where Rafael was currently sprawled. She joined him and they lay side by side for a moment, before he reached over and grasped her hand.

“What’s Noah doing?” he asked.

“Investigating the television stations. But he’ll be telling us he’s hungry shortly, I imagine.”

Rolling to her side, Olivia put a palm on his chest. “Rafa, how much -- “

Rafael cut her off by rolling himself and pushing her back down and covering her lips with his. When he drew back he said, “It’s irrelevant. You deserve it, _mi amor_. Both of you.”

Her hands had found their way into the hair at the nape of his neck and she pulled his head back down to return the kiss. When she was finished, she said, “We all do. I don’t think I could have gotten through the last few weeks without you, Rafa.”

They had just started a third kiss when they heard footsteps on the wooden stairs.

“Momma? Uncle Rafa? I’m hungry.” Noah appeared in the doorway, just as they had moved out of each other’s arms and sat up.

“I am too, _mijo_ ,” said Rafael. “Why don’t you go wash your hands and put your shoes back on and we’ll go see what the restaurants here have to offer?”

“Okay!” The boy turned from the doorway and clattered back down the steps.

“Hold onto the railing!” his mother called as they heard him jump the last two risers. Then she looked at the man sitting beside her. “Restaurants? Plural?”

“There are two. Plus an ice cream parlor.” Rafael tipped his head. “How much time did we buy with him tying his shoes?”

“Not enough,” she laughed, and placed a quick kiss on his lips. “Besides, I want to freshen up too. I’m sure I have that just-finished-making-out look.”

He reached out a thumb to touch her lower lip. Both were fuller and darker from his ministrations.

“I like the way you look.”

She opened her mouth and bit it gently. His eyes darkened.

“Later, Barba.”

After dinner and an explore around the lodge that ended with a stop in the lodge’s market that offered a surprising variety to pick up a few grocery items for breakfast the next morning, they returned to their suite with a tired Noah. Rafael scooped him up when he stumbled through the door and carried him into his room. Olivia worked him out of his clothes and into pajamas and under the covers of his bed.

“Are we going skiing tomorrow?” the boy asked sleepily, snuggling into the pillow with Eddie.

“We are,” Rafael assured him, dropping a kiss onto his head. “Sweet dreams, _mijo_.”

“Good night, sweet boy,” Olivia said, kissing his forehead. “Rafa and I are right upstairs if you need us. I’ll leave a light on in the living room.”

“‘Night, Momma. Uncle Rafa.”

Olivia turned on the nightlight provided by the resort and the couple left the room, closing it behind them, then turned to Rafael and said with a wink,

“It’s later.”

“Bed, tub or fireplace?” he queried with a raised eyebrow and a caress of her arm  that sent a shiver of pleasure down her spine. When she’d seen the fireplace earlier, the first thing she thought of was being on the floor in front of it, the fire warming their skin as they made love. The tub was also another location they’d never been intimate, since his apartment only had a shower and hers was a standard size that she didn’t think would be very comfortable. But the one here offered plenty of room and possibilities.

“First night in a strange place for Noah, I think I’d like to be where I can cover up quickly if he comes looking for us ,” she admitted. “Besides, we should save the tub for after skiing I think.”

Rafael nodded, remembering his knees from earlier that day, took her by the hand and led her up the stairs to their room. As he slowly undressed Olivia, worshipping her body with his mouth and hands, he couldn’t imagine ever not wanting to touch and kiss her and later when she was asleep in his arms, started to plan how and when he would propose. They would be at the resort for New Year’s Eve, and while it was little cliche and traditional, nothing else about their relationship had been, so she might not be expecting it.

Morning dawned with the sun shining brightly on the mountain for which the resort was named and a couple inches of fresh powder. Noah was bouncing with excitement as he ate his cereal and banana, then dashed off to dress and brush his teeth without being told, which Rafael and Olivia watched with amusement drinking their coffee.

“Are these supposed to be so….. _form fitting_?” she asked, coming out of the bedroom to stand at the top of the stairs, turning around in a slow circle. Part of Rafael’s Christmas gifts to Olivia was clothes to wear skiing.

Rafael looked up from where he was helping Noah put on his snow boots and his mouth curved into a smile that told Olivia exactly what he was thinking about how the black ski pants fit her curves. She shook her head at him, but returned his smile with affection.

“You look perfect, _mi amor_ ,” he said, the skin beside his eyes crinkling as his smile widened.

“Yeah, you look good, Momma,” Noah added. “Let’s go!”

“The snow isn’t going anywhere, _mijo_ ,” Rafael laughed.

Noah clomped awkwardly across the flattened snow in his ski boots toward the ski school area. Olivia carried his small skis and Rafael his helmet. They had signed Noah up for a children’s program that would give him 90 minutes of instruction.

“I look like a Storm Trooper!” the boy said when they’d buckled on the rented boots. He was looking forward to learning how to ski but his mother wasn’t as enthusiastic.

“Are you sure this is a good idea, Rafa?” she said quietly. “Can’t you teach him?”

“Liv, I haven’t been on skis — “

“Since Gstaad?” she teased, her eyes twinkling. She had never asked him exactly how he ended up on a ski trip to Switzerland.

“In years,” he finished. “But yes. Not since then. I may end up on my ass or not able to move tomorrow. He needs an actual instructor.”

Olivia’s eyes scanned the group of children clustered around two young women in bright blue ski jackets with the Whiteface logo. Rafael knew where her thoughts had gone. He put a hand on her arm and they paused in their progress.

“Liv. I already asked. All the instructors have child abuse clearances.”

“Can’t I just stay and watch?”

“No. You’re going to come with me so we can refresh our skills and I’m going to watch your butt in those tight pants.” He winked at her. She rolled her eyes, but part of her appreciated the way he looked at her in the new outfit. Her ski jacket was a deep purple. Not a color she usually chose, but clearly one Rafael liked on her.

“Momma! Uncle Rafa!” Noah had continued walking but now realized they’d stopped and turned to call to the couple. “Come on! The class is going to start without me!”

“He will be fine,” Rafael assured her, and took her hand so they could catch up with the boy.

Olivia managed to leave Noah at the ski school, resisting the urge to introduce herself as a police officer and with only one or two backward glances, followed Rafael to pick up their boots and skis. She had been invited on ski trips with friends in college a couple times and remembered the fundamentals but wanted to practice a bit on the lower, easier slopes before going higher with Rafael. She had never thought of him as being particularly athletic but skiing seemed to come naturally to him. He moved his skis with confidence and she admired the ripple of his thigh muscles beneath his own ski pants that were distractingly tight. She was enjoying the wind in her face and was feeling confident to try something more difficult when they realized Noah’s lessons were done. The boy’s cheeks were rosy from the cold and he was grinning from ear to ear when they arrived at the pickup area.

“Momma! Uncle Rafa!”

He waved a mittened hand at them from the group waiting for parents. They returned the pager they’d been given as a means of emergency contact and the instructor helped Noah remove the vest he’d worn that identified him as a member of the ski school program.

“Looks like you had a good time,” Olivia said, crouching down to unbuckle and remove his helmet.

“It was so much fun!” he exclaimed. “Can I come back tomorrow?”

The adults exchanged glances. Rafael pulled the boy’s ski cap from his pocket and pulled it on over his sweaty curls.

“We’ll see,” he told him. “How about we get a snack and then we can ski together.”

Over coffee for the adults, hot chocolate for Noah, a chocolate chip cookie the size of Rafael’s hand to share -- much to both the child and man’s dismay -- along with some apple slices and grapes at Olivia’s insistence, Noah told them about his lesson. He explained how he learned to ‘make a pizza’ with his skis to slow down, and to lean when he turned one way or the other.

“So can I go back tomorrow? You can stay all day, not just for the lesson, and ski and play inside with the other kids too.”

Olivia wiped the chocolate mustache from his upper lip.

“Let me think about it. Why don’t we go back out and you can show us what you learned?”

*******************

 

BELOW: Whiteface Lodge

BELOW: Part of a suite

 

BELOW: the suite bathroom with jetted tub

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was only supposed to be a two, maybe three chapter story, but the muse -- and Rafael, Olivia and Noah -- clearly have other plans.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Olivia gets convinced to let Noah spend the whole day at the ski program, after they do some sightseeing and Barba and Benson enjoy the fireplace in the suite.

It took another day of the 90 minute program, more questions into the training of the adults and reassurance that only the person who signed a child in was permitted to sign them out after showing identification, but Olivia let herself be convinced by the two most important men in her life to let the younger participate in the whole day Play-N-Ski Program. Noah rejoiced and even passed on dessert after dinner so he could get back to the suite and “go to bed so tomorrow can come.” Rafael and Olivia both repressed smiles at the boy’s eagerness.

“We may have created a monster,” Rafael murmured as they walked through the lodge back to their rooms, watching Noah run ahead of them, then stop and impatiently wait for them to catch up.

“Might have to find a place closer to home to ski.” She linked her arm through his and gave it a squeeze.

Excitement notwithstanding, the boy was asleep within minutes of his head hitting the pillow. They had taken a break from the slopes that day, and spent it sightseeing and shopping in Lake Placid. Noah had been fascinated by the Olympic ski jumping complex, standing with his forehead pressed against the glass looking down from the high tower. Rafael chuckled at Olivia’s preference to remain back away from the floor to ceiling windows.

“I didn’t know you were afraid of heights,” he teased from his spot beside the boy. She never seemed to think twice about chasing after a perp onto a rooftop, but realized she’d found a way to avoid going up the highest ski lift so far on their trip.

“She doesn’t like to go to the top of the Empire State Building, either,” Noah supplied, making her frown and Rafael laugh outright. He walked over to put his arm around her waist and draw her close to his side and kissed her temple.

“Does this mean you didn’t go up in the Eiffel Tower, either?” he murmured for her ears only, not knowing if Noah remembered the trip to Paris.

For a moment she was back in the French capital, standing in a line for tickets at the base of the monument.

 

_“I can’t believe I brought you all the way to Paris and you won’t go up in one of the world’s most famous landmarks, Olivia!” Ed’s blue eyes flashed with annoyance._

_“You_ _brought_ _me……?” She turned the stroller Noah was sitting in so he couldn’t see the two of them argue. Again._

_The trip had been tense from the start, when Noah fussed for a good portion of the flight from New York and then had a hard time adjusting to the time difference. At one point, Ed had even hinted they should have left the boy at home._

 

“Liv?”

She shook her head to banish the memory and smiled at the man at her side.

“Sorry. But no, I didn’t.”

While Olivia tucked Noah in for the night, Rafael lit the fireplace and dimmed the lights in the living area. He contemplated proposing right then when she sat down beside him on the small sofa and he saw her in the glow of the fire. The flames reflected in Olivia’s eyes when she smiled at him and once again, Rafael was struck by her simple beauty. With no work to worry about she had started to truly relax and enjoy herself. Especially after neither she nor Noah had woke with dreams about the boy’s kidnapping since they’d been there. He found himself wishing he could keep her and Noah in the mountains and never go back.

“So,” Olivia drew out the vowel, running a hand across his shoulder and down his arm. “Fireplace tonight, hm?”

Rafael shrugged and offered her that familiar half grin, gesturing at the floor in front of the hearth.

“I found an extra comforter in closet with the towels.” He glanced toward Noah’s closed door. “He asleep?”

“Down for the count with Eddie and Morty.”

Morty the Moose was Eddie’s new friend Noah found in a shop that day, along with another stuffed moose who sported a pink bow between her antlers that he insisted they had to buy for Jesse Rollins. Noah named her Molly, even though his mother told him Jesse might change it. “She won’t,” he’d told her confidently, before putting Molly to bed on the chair in corner of his bedroom with a towel for a blanket.

“In that case,” Rafael said, putting a hand under her hair to cup the back of her head and leaned in to kiss her. An involuntary sound rose from her throat when his tongue caressed the seam of her lips and she opened them to receive its sensuous caress.

Olivia’s hands went to the buttons on his shirt while his other one found its way under the hem of her sweater to the soft skin above the waistband of her slacks. He pulled her sweater over her head, pressing kisses to the freckles on her chest and the valley between her breasts, giving extra gentle attention to the faded, white burn scars, courtesy of Williams Lewis. Rafael gave the bastard a fleeting thought to hope he was rotting in hell, before he returned his mind to the beautiful woman who had finished unbuttoning his shirt and reached for his belt buckle. They had to stand to remove their respective trousers, and then found themselves on the blanket; Olivia straddling his hips, her hair making a dark curtain around faces when she moved in to kiss him while his hands reached around her back to release the clasp on her bra. As Olivia had imagined, the flames from the fire warmed their bare skin while they made love and she stifled her cries of pleasure against Rafael’s shoulder, before kissing the smattering of freckles there as he buried his face between her breasts to muffle his own groan. They lingered a while in front of the fire, covering themselves with part of the comforter, kissing and snuggling before deciding to go to bed before they got too sleepy. It wouldn’t do for Noah to find them naked on the floor in the morning, said Rafael, and pulled Olivia to her feet.

“That doesn’t mean we can’t stay naked in bed,” he added with a gentle smack to her butt that sent her in the direction of the stairs, discarded clothing in her hands.

Then next morning all three prepared for a day of skiing, and in Noah’s case, playing. As requested, Olivia put a change of clothes in the boy’s backpack. He wanted to take Morty along, but Rafael told him Eddie would be lonely without his new friend. However, when the adults were elsewhere in the suite, Noah slipped the moose into the backpack, hiding him at the bottom under the clothes his mother packed.

“Eddie, you can play with Molly,” he whispered, putting the elephant in the chair beside Jesse’s gift. “I’ll see you both later.”

Then he left the room to don his boots and coat.

With strict admonitions to behave and several hugs, Olivia left Noah to his devices with the other children while she filled out paperwork about her son. Food allergies: none. Medical conditions: none. Emergency contact: she paused before writing Rafael’s cell phone down. At his urging, she had been leaving hers in the suite, so she wouldn’t be tempted to check in with work. A smiling young woman with a blonde ponytail returned her police ID after making a copy. Rafael had bit his lip when she slid it across the counter, rather than her drivers license, trying not to smile at her not to subtle attempt to make sure they knew Noah was the son of law enforcement.

“Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Benson,” the young woman said.”Don’t worry about a thing. You go enjoy yourselves on the slopes and Noah will do they same.”

“Oh, we — “ Olivia began, intending to say they weren’t married but Rafael cut her off with a broad smile.

“We intend to.” He put an arm around the brunette’s waist. “Thank you, Allyson. We will see you later this afternoon.”

He guided Olivia away from the counter, even as she was craning her neck to find Noah in the group of children who were sitting on a low bench to change from snow boots into ski boots.

“He was fine the other day,” Rafael said low in her ear, “he will be fine again today.”

“I know, I know. I just —- I just have a feeling,” Olivia admitted.

“Do you want to go get him?” he offered, feeling maybe he had pushed her too hard to leave Noah all day this soon after the kidnapping. “We can all ski together. Or we can take him over to the snow tubing hill.”

She shook her head.

“No. I need to be able to send him back to school when we get home and this is the first step. Like you said, he’ll be fine.”

Olivia forgot all about that feeling as she enjoyed skiing the harder trails with the man she loved beside her. They took run after run until their thighs were screaming and their cheeks bright red with windburn then stopped for lunch where they had a view of the slopes with the sun sparkling off the fresh powder. The last day of the year was the next day and Rafael took the moment to broach the subject of plans for the evening; not mentioning the extra special ones he had in mind.

“How about a romantic dinner for two?” he suggested. “The main dining room at the resort offers a New Year’s Eve dinner package. It includes a separate, age appropriate event for children.”

“Leave Noah again? Oh, Rafa, I don’t know.”

“It wouldn’t be for long. Just dinner. They do an early countdown for the kids so they’re not up until midnight,” Rafael explained, putting a hand over hers. “But if you don’t want to do that, we can have a quiet night in. Room service or I’m sure I can manage to broil some steaks in that kitchen. It doesn’t matter how or where we ring in the new year, _mi amor,_ as long as we’re together.”

Olivia promise she’d think about it and they resumed skiing. The sun was low in the ski and they were in line for a lift when Rafael felt his phone buzzing.  He unzipped his jacket and pulled it from the inner pocket. The caller ID read WHITEFACE SKI.

“Hello? This is he. What? Are you sure? We’ll be right there.”

He hung up the phone and took Olivia’s arm and led her to step out of the queue.

“That was the kid’s program.” She’d seen the caller ID and heard his side of the conversation.

“What’s wrong? Did Noah get hurt?” She had already stepped out of her skis so she could move faster.

“No.” Rafael took the moment while he removed his own to choose his words carefully, but he knew her reaction wouldn’t be good regardless. “They can’t find him.”

“What?” She had already started walking toward the building but stopped as if he’d grabbed her arm, which he now did.

“They went to round up the children for an activity and couldn’t find him,” he said, watching her eyes widen and her face grow pale. “Liv, Noah’s missing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't hate me! I don't do angst very often and you KNOW I always have happy endings. : ) But this was a perfect opportunity.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liv and Rafael get the details on Noah's disappearance from the ski school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This whole thing is almost done and from the end of Chapter 4 to that was up to more than 8000 words so I've divided it up into several chapters. Most of which I'm about to give you. The final one still needs a wrap up. Enjoy!

Olivia’s skis and poles clattered to the snow and her knees began to buckle as Rafael’s words sank in. He dropped his own and reached for her, taking her into his arms.

“Liv!”

She took fistfuls of his jacket in her gloved hands and looked at him, her eyes frantic.

“No!” She shouted, causing a few heads to turn as people passed them by on the way to the lift. Then quieter, almost a moan, “Not again!”

He gave her a little shake and spoke firmly to get her attention.

“Olivia. Olivia listen to me. I’m sure he’s just wandered off. There was a race earlier. Maybe he wanted to watch it. We will find him,” Rafael assured her, his voice calm, even as his own heart was pounding. “We need to gather our things and get over there to get the whole story.”

Rafael let go of her cautiously; hoping she would stay upright. She did. He bent, gathered her skis and poles and handed them to her. Her face was pale but composed. Shouldering his own equipment, he put his free arm around her waist and they set off.

The couple was met at the door to the ski school by Allyson, the girl who checked Noah in. She was distraught.

“Mr. and Mrs. Benson, I’m so sorry! I don’t know what happened! He was there, playing with the children and then when we went to bring them together for an activity, he wasn’t!”

It didn’t occur to Rafael or Olivia even thought to correct her. All they wanted to do was find Noah.

“Tell us exactly what happened,” Olivia said. Rafael was happy to hear her police lieutenant voice. It told him that while she was upset, she was still in control of her emotions for the time being.

There wasn’t much more to tell. Noah had participated in ski lessons in the morning, had lunch with the rest of the children, some inside free play time afterward and then back to the snow for a little while before coming back in the building. When the children were gathered together to watch a movie before pick up time, Noah wasn’t with the group. They had searched the restrooms and the other parts of the building where the ski school was located but he was nowhere to be found. His jacket was missing but his ski boots and skis were still where he’d put them so although he clearly had left the building, it wasn’t to ski.

Rafael paced while Allyson and the director of the ski school spoke to them. He ran his hands through his hair and scrubbed the back of his neck, trying to think where the boy could have gone. No one had seen him in the crowds near the ski race earlier, but a small boy in a ski jacket wasn’t going to stand out. He spotted a security camera in the corner of the room.

“Do those work or are they for show?” Rafael asked, pointing at the device.

“We have security cameras all over the lodge,” said the director. “Fully functional. To keep people from just walking off with rental skis and snowboards. But it also adds a level of security for the children’s programs.”

“We need to see them,” Olivia said.

The footage was cloud-based and could be pulled up from any computer in the Whiteface system. Soon, Olivia and Rafael were watching footage of Noah. They watched him come into the building, hang up his coat beside his backpack and take off his ski boots. Another angle showed him playing with the children for a while; moving around the room. Then he left the view from that camera.

“Switch back to the coat rack,” Rafael ordered. They watched as Noah put his coat and hat on and reached into the backpack. “What’s he doing?”

The boy pulled his new stuffed moose from the bag. 

“I told him he couldn’t bring Morty,” Rafael muttered.

“He must have snuck it in when we weren’t looking,” said Olivia.

After taking the toy, Noah turned and walked away, checking behind him to make sure he wasn’t seen. Then he disappeared from that camera angle.

“Is there one outside the door?” Olivia asked anxiously then turned to the man sitting beside her. “Why would he go outside? And why take the moose?”

Rafael put an arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple. 

“I don’t know. But he has to be here somewhere. He can’t leave the mountain on foot. We’ll find him.”

“Wait, did you say a moose?” asked Allyson. She had been helping release the rest of the children to their parents but joined them just then.

“Yes, why?” Olivia said.

“He might have heard me telling Mariem that my boyfriend and I saw a moose when we were going up the Gondola,” the young woman told them. “Do you think he would try and take the lift himself?”

Olivia and Rafael exchanged looks. Noah was stubborn and single-minded, like his mother, Rafael thought fondly. If he got an idea in his head, he definitely might try to act on it.

“Yes, I do,” he said. She nodded in agreement. “Where is the Gondola?”

The director pointed to a map on the wall. It was on the other side of the base of mountain from where they were. Olivia stood and shoved her arms into her jacket.

“Let’s go, Rafa.”

“Mrs. Benson,” the director interrupted, “Whiteface is a large place. Children get separated from their families every day here. We have a missing child protocol. I’ll implement it so all the employees are notified. Do you have a recent photo of Noah?”

Rafael pulled out his phone and showed her one he’d taken the day before in Lake Placid. The director handed him a business card. “Text it to this number and I’ll make sure it gets distributed,” she said.

“Thank you,” he replied, sending the photo with a few moves of his thumbs. Then he too, put on his jacket and followed Olivia out of the building. 

It was nearly dark when they walked outside and the outdoor lights had come on, making the snow appear to glow. They stopped to switch out of their ski boots. Neither would be skiing anymore that day. Once her footwear was changed, Olivia stayed on the the bench where she’d sat and buried her face in her hands. Rafael crouched in front of her and grasped her wrists gently.

“Liv.”

She lifted her head and met his green eyes. Her brown ones, that had been full of delight a few hours before as they descended the ski slopes together, were now filled with fear. It was too soon after the Sheila Incident, he thought, kicking himself for taking them away from home, let alone convincing her to leave Noah with strangers.  _ She should blame me for this.  _ But he didn’t see accusations in her eyes, just fear. Fear that once again, she may have lost her son. The child that she told Michelle Morrison at the DAs office when they investigated her for abuse was the only reason she fought to survive against William Lewis; even though she didn’t even know he existed then.

“It’s almost night, Rafael. It’s getting colder. He’s just a little boy,” she said plaintively. “He probably didn’t put on his mittens. He never does.” She drew a shuddering breath. “We have to find him. What if --”

She didn’t finish the sentence. She didn’t have to. He knew she meant what if someone -- someone who had ulterior motives -- found a child wandering alone and abducted him under the guise of helping him.

“Liv, I highly doubt child predators frequent ski slopes looking for children who wander off looking for moose. He’s probably just riding the Gondola and doesn’t realize we’re looking for him.”

Rafael released her wrists and cupped her face with his hands.

“We will find him,” he said, before kissing her. It was brief and chaste but in it she felt his own fears he hadn’t voiced.

Olivia clung to his jacket for a moment then released him.

“Let’s go find him.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that they've figured out where Noah's gone, Olivia and Rafael set out to get him back safely.

It was a short walk for their long adult legs to the entrance of the Gondola lift that carried both skiers and spectators alike up and down the mountain. Both of them wondered how long it would have taken Noah to get there. They stopped every Whiteface employee they saw, asking if they’d seen the boy. Every answer was roughly the same: they saw too many children to have taken notice before, but would be looking for him now that it had been announced he was missing.

The activity hadn’t lessened on the mountain just because of a missing child that the rest of the skiers were unaware of, and as they approached the entrance to both the Gondola and a quad lift that went all the way up the face of the mountain, they had to slow their pace because of skiers and snowboarders making their way to the queues. Olivia was gazing up at the mountain, illuminated for night skiing and wondering if her son was up there somewhere when a child’s voice cut through her thoughts.

“Look, someone lost a stuffed moose!”

Both Olivia and Rafael’s head swiveled simultaneously toward the speaker, a little girl, about Noah’s age, who was walking with her mom.

“A moose? A toy moose? Where?” Olivia spoke to the child, then looked at the mother. “My son is lost. He was carrying his stuffed moose.”

The little girl pointed to a spot in the snow adjacent to the path where foot traffic traveled. In a few long strides, Rafael was there and holding the toy he knew to be Morty, because Noah had asked him to print the name on the cloth tag attached to the back of the animal’s leg. But the snow where it had been lying was untouched by footprints. How had it gotten there? He looked around and then his gaze was drawn up. Above his head, the seats of the open chair lift glided by, moving silently up the mountain. Olivia tipped her head back and followed his gaze. When he rejoined her on the path, she took Morty from him and clutched it to her chest for a moment then said, “Do you think he got on that lift instead of the Gondola?”

“It’s possible. Look.” he pointed at the entrance to the two lifts. They were very close to each other. For a six year old who was learning to read, he could have easily gotten in the wrong line.

Olivia ran toward the entrance of the chair lift, weaving through the crowd with practiced ease from chasing criminals through the streets of New York; Rafael on her heels. She shouldered her way to the front of the line, ignoring the protests that followed, until she reached an attendant.

“Did a boy with curly brown hair in a red ski jacket get on this lift? He didn’t have on skis and he would have been holding this.” She held up the moose. The man looked from her to the moose and back, a little taken aback by this woman who had pushed her way to the front of the line and way waving a child’s toy at him. “Surely you would have noticed a child getting on the lift alone without skis?!” 

Her voice got a little shrill at the end, and Rafael, who had made his way to her, reached out and put at hand at her waist. His touch had a calming effect and she spoke again, more composed.

“His name is Noah Benson. He’s the missing child you got an alert about. Did you see him get on the lift?” She was clutching the toy to her chest again.

The lift attendant looked at the photo Rafael was now showing him on his phone. It was different than the one that had gone out with the alert. This one was Noah holding Morty. Now the man understood. He nodded.

“Yeah, I think so. There was a big group of people with a bunch of kids that all got on at the same time and I remember one was holding a moose.”

Olivia sagged back against Rafael’s hand, still at her waist.

“But wait,” she said looking up the mountain. “You can’t ride the lift back down, can you?”

“No.”

Olivia turned to Rafael. “How are we going to get him?”

“We’ll go up and ski him down.”

She looked at the chairs gliding up the mountain and her insides clenched. She had gone up some of the other lifts with Rafael earlier but they hadn’t gone nearly as high. Her hesitation made him think she was concerned about her skiing ability.

“Liv, we’ll go slow. You can do it.”

She shook her head. 

“It’s not the skiing. It’s the --” she looked up at the lift.

“You can do that too. I’ll be right beside you,” Rafael told her. “Or I can go get him myself.”

Olivia looked down at the stuffed toy in her hands. Her son was up on that mountain. Cold, probably frightened, now that he realized he had no way of getting back down. She loved Rafael and so did Noah, but he wasn’t Noah’s father, as much as he functioned in that capacity and as much as she was realizing how much she wanted that to be; especially since the boy’s kidnapping. He had gone with her to New Hampshire to rescue him from Sheila Porter, not knowing what they were walking into at that cabin. They had always been a team at work, but now they were a team at home as well. She couldn’t let him go up the mountain alone; regardless of how much she wanted to keep her feet on the ground. Raising her gaze from the moose to the green eyes of the man she loved, she shook her head.

“No. We’ll get him together.”

That decision made, she was able to shift back into lieutenant mode. She looked at the lift attendant.

“Can you contact someone at the top at see if Noah has made it up there? If he has or when he does, have them tell him we’re coming to get him.”

The man nodded. “Yes, Ma’am.”

Rafael and Olivia hurried back to where they’d left their skis and boots and changed once again, then made their way back to the lift line. Allyson from the ski school was waiting for them.

“Mr. and Mrs. Benson, Noah didn’t get off midway, but rode the chair all the way to the summit. He’s safe, though and waiting for you up there with the lift attendant,” Allyson told them, and Rafael’s heart lurched with happiness at her words. 

Olivia leaned against him briefly and he knew she was feeling the same relief. The young woman held out the pair of small skis and boots Noah had used, along with a harness used for teaching children to ski. It allowed the adult skiing behind to keep them from going too fast. 

“I thought you might need these when I heard you were going to ski him down.”

“Thank you,” Rafael said, realizing he hadn’t thought about how they were going to get him down without Noah on skis. He didn’t think his legs would have let him carry the boy down on his back; especially after skiing all day already.

They were allowed to the head of the line; all the lift employees knowing now the lost boy had been found and the word had spread to the skiers as well. They got pats on the back and words of encouragement as they made they way to board a chair. The attendant they’d spoken to earlier greeted them with a smile.

“Once you get going, I’ll radio up so they can let him know you’re on the way. They said he was relieved to hear his mom and dad were coming to get him.”

Olivia was too busy paying attention to keeping her skis straight and standing in the right place so when the chair hit the back of her legs she could sit down quickly while the bar was lowered in front of them to notice the man’s choice of words. But Rafael did.  _ Mom and dad.  _ And other people had referred to them repeatedly as  _ Mr. and Mrs.  _ He wanted those things to be facts, not just someone’s perception for lack of being corrected. Now he didn’t want to wait another day to propose on New Year’s Eve. As soon as they had Noah back, safe and sound, he was proposing.

As the lift passed one of the support poles it gave a small bump and beside him, Olivia gasped and gripped the bar tighter. She wanted to close her eyes, but that was more frightening, so she settled for staring straight ahead at the chair in front of them. Rafael knew if he could see her hands, the knuckles would be white. He shifted Noah’s skis to lay across their laps to free up his hand closest to her. He placed it over top one of hers and turned his head so his mouth was close to her hat covered ear.

“Not much further,” he said quietly. “Look how beautiful the stars are. Just like you.”

She turned her head to rest her forehead against his. “You’re just trying to distract me.”

“Is it working?”

“A little.” She smiled. “Have I told you lately that I love you?”

He offered her a smirk and pretended to think about it. “Not today.”

“Well I do.”

“I know.”

“Okay, Han Solo,” Olivia chuckled. 

“Look, we’re here.” 

They turned their heads away from each other and watched as they approached the lift station. The bar rose and they stood and skied away from the chair. There was a small building nearby, and as they came to a halt a few yards away, the door opened and a small figure came hurtling out.

“Momma! Uncle Rafa!”

“Noah!” cried Olivia, dropping to her knees, heedless of the skis on her feet that crossed and nearly pitched her on her face. 

Rafael, who couldn’t have spoken around the lump of emotion in his throat if he wanted to, used the tip of his ski pole to release her boots from the binding as the boy reached them and she gathered him into her arms. Dropping the small skis, he stepped out of his own and joined the embrace.

“ _ Mijo,”  _ he murmured huskily, pressing his cheek to the top of the boy’s hat.

“I’m sorry I left the ski school,” Noah said, looking at the two adults who still had their arms around him. “I heard Miss Ally say she saw a moose from the gon-dola and I wanted to see a real Morty. I thought I could take a quick ride and get back before you came to get me.

“Then I got mixed up and got on the wrong thing and didn’t know how to get off the first time it slowed down and so I had to come all the way up here. Then I didn’t know how to get back down. But Mr. Larry said you were coming and let me have some hot chocolate. He looks like Uncle Sonny!”

A man in the now familiar blue Whiteface jacket emerged from the building and did bear a striking resemblance to Detective Dominick “Sonny” Carisi. 

“Hi, folks. Guess you’re here to get my new friend,” he said. “Larry Broderick.”

Rafael stood and extended his hand. “Rafael Barba. Thank you for taking care of our boy.”

Broderick shook it firmly. “No problem at all. We’re supposed to have some snow moving in. Let’s get you back down the mountain.”

Olivia and Rafael got their skis back on while Larry helped Noah change into his boots. Once he was snapped into his skis, the mountain employee showed them how to buckle the harness on Noah’s chest and around Rafael’s waist and explained how it worked.

“It’s essentially like reins on a horse. As long as his feet are pointed straight, if you pull on the right strap, he should go right; and left on the left.”

“Look at that, Noah, you’re my little pony,” Rafael said. “Giddyap.” 

The boy had not been pleased to find out they had to ski back down. He was tired and it was cold. But his Uncle Rafa could always make him laugh. He giggled.

Olivia said, “I don’t know about you boys, but I’m hungry. Let’s get going.”

The mention of food perked Noah up as well and they lined up to begin their descent.

“Bye, Mr. Larry!” He waved to the man, who returned the gesture.

“All right Noah, you just keep your skies straight like toothpicks and I’ll do all the work, okay?”

“Okay, Uncle Rafa.”

It was hard work for Rafael, skiing with the harness and maintaining a speed that didn’t have Noah’s weight pulling on him. Halfway down the mountain it began to snow, which distracted the boy, who had started to complain, asking how much longer it would take to reach the bottom.

“It’s like being in a snow globe like the ones on your desk, Momma,” Noah said.

Olivia nodded. She was working on keeping herself upright. Parts of this had been steeper than she had skied before. Glancing at Rafael’s face she could see he was concentrating on keeping him and Noah at a reasonable speed. The snow had reduced visibility and he slowed down as they neared some trees, but Noah’s weight pulled the harness reins taut.

“ _ Mijo, _ can you make a pizza with your skis to slow down a little?” the man asked. The boy did as requested and the leads loosened a bit, giving him a bit of relief. His thighs and calves were burning with exertion, and Rafael knew his back would be one big knot before morning.

“Look, there’s the bottom!” Noah cried, as they cleared the trees and the lights of the main buildings came into view.

A few minutes more and they were on flat snow. Legs shaking, Olivia and Rafael released their bindings and sat down on the ground, away from the crowds. From his seated position, the man removed the harness from himself and Noah while Olivia helped the boy remove his skis.

“Noah!”

The boy turned to see Allyson standing there. She had been watching for them to descend the mountain, holding Morty the Moose until they returned.

“Miss Ally! Morty!” 

The young woman held out the stuffed animal to the boy who took him eagerly. 

“I’m sorry I snuck out, Miss Ally,” he said. “I just wanted to see a real moose.”

“I know, Noah. If you had asked me about it, I could have showed you the pictures I took.”

“Pictures? Can I see them now?”

Olivia got to her feet, holding back a groan as her legs protested.

“Sweet boy, we have had enough fun for today. It’s time to go back to our room,” she told her son. “I think Rafa needs a soak in that big tub. He worked hard getting you down the mountain.”

Noah’s face fell.

“What if I text them to your dad? We have his cell phone number,” Ally suggested and the boy frowned, confused at the reference of Rafael as his father.

Not a conversation she wanted to have at that moment, in public, cold, tired and sore, Olivia interrupted quickly.

“That would be great, wouldn’t it, Noah? Thank you, Allyson.”

Rafael had gotten to his feet, a little slower than Olivia, but now also added,

“Yes, thank you. And thank you for everything everyone did to help us find Noah. Olivia’s right. It’s time for us to get back to the resort.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may have taken a few fictional liberties with regard to how Noah made it onto the lift and how they got him back down the mountain. In reality he probably wouldn't have been able to make it up to the top and if he did, most likely would have been brought down by snowmobile. But this worked, right? : )


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Noah back safe and sound, Rafael changes his plans for proposing to Liv.

The warmth of the car and the motion had Noah asleep on the brief ride from the mountain to the resort.

“Do you want me to just carry him in?” Rafael asked. “Let him sleep?”

“No. He’ll wake us up at midnight, starving,” she said with a laugh. “But you’re still probably going to have to carry him.”

Her prediction held true. When they woke Noah and unbuckled him from the booster seat he held out his arms to Rafael. 

“Carry me? My legs are too tired to work.”

The man hoisted him into his arms and immediately the curly head went down on his shoulder.

“Noah, don’t go back to sleep, sweetie. You need to eat some dinner,” said Olivia as they walked into the lodge.

“Dino nuggets?” came the request, muffled by Rafael’s jacket.

“Honey, I don’t know if they have dino nuggets here,” she said, and got a whine that sounded like he was on the verge of tears.

Rafael stopped and handed the boy off to his mother.

“I’ll go see what I can do,” he said. “Take him back to the room.”

Olivia watched him walk away, touched but skeptical he was going to produce dinosaur chicken nuggets. As he walked toward the restaurant in the lodge that had a large family-friendly and children’s menu, Rafael thought if he had to carve the shapes himself he was going to give Noah what he wanted. His eyes burned at the thought that today was the second time in a month he’d almost lost the child he’d come to love as his own. He took a deep breath in through his nose and composed himself before entering the restaurant. 

Noah was just finishing a bath Olivia had put him in to warm up when her phone rang. 

“Rafa, where have you been? You didn’t do something like drive to a store for dino nuggets did you?” she asked, lowering her voice and walking out of the bathroom. His laughter made her smile -- a relaxed smile -- for the first time in the last several hours.

“No,  _ mi amor,  _ but I think what I’m bringing will be equally acceptable,” Rafael said. “I got some food for us as well. I chose for you. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course not. You know what I like.”

“Yes, I do.” His voice was low and sexy in her ear and she felt her face grow warm. 

“That’s not what I meant!” she said in a hushed tone. 

“But it's what I meant.” Rafael chuckled. “Open the door for me. I’m here.”

When he revealed the contents of the takeout containers, his prediction was correct: Noah was enthralled by the two pancakes in the shape of a moose, with chocolate chips for eyes. And few more for sprinkling once they were cut for eating; which he was reluctant to do until his mother took a picture of them so he could show Jesse when they got home. By the time he had finished one and a half moose and some of the fruit cup, Noah could hardly keep his eyes open. 

“Time for bed, sweet boy,” Olivia said, wiping a smear of chocolate from his mouth. “You can even skip brushing your teeth.”

“Yay,” Noah said through a yawn. 

“Good night,  _ mijo, _ ” Rafael told him, putting his arms around the boy to return the hug he offered.

“G’night, Uncle Rafa. I love you.”

Rafael froze. The boy had heard him and Olivia exchange “I love you’s”, but he had never said it to Noah. After a moment, he dropped a kiss on his curls, cleared his throat and replied,

“I love you, too, Noah.”

When the boy walked away with Olivia to his bedroom, Rafael sat there a minute or two, listening to their muffled voices, then stood and went quickly and quietly up the stairs. When he returned the black box from his suitcase was clutched in his fist. He sat back down at the dining table, but couldn’t finish any more of his own food now. His stomach was a mass of nerves. This wasn’t the way he’d planned it any of the times he imagined proposing. But then, their relationship had never followed any of the expected paths. Why should this be any different, the lawyer thought. He was still sitting there, going over words he wanted to say in his head, as if he was preparing for court, when he realized Olivia hadn’t returned from Noah’s room. Tucking the ring box into his pocket, Rafael went to the bedroom and looked inside. Olivia was laying beside Noah on the bed, both of them asleep. Bending over her, he placed a hand on her shoulder and spoke quietly,

“Liv, wake up.” Her eyes opened. “You fell asleep.”

She smiled up at him. “Sorry.”

“Understandable,” Rafael said extending a hand. “It was quite a day.” He looked at the sleeping boy, arms curled around Eddie and Morty, who, other than getting damp, was no worse for wear after his fall from the lift.

Olivia allowed him to pull her to her feet and lead her back to the living area. She glanced at their unfinished food. 

“Want me to heat that up?”

“No thanks” Rafael felt his mouth grow dry and he licked his lips. “Liv, I, um,”

Thousands of courtroom appearances and he hadn’t been nervous in years. But a four word question was turning him into a stammering teenager. Fortunately she hadn’t noticed and moved to clean up the remains of the meal. In the bag from the restaurant had been a flyer advertising the New Year’s Eve events at the lodge the next day. It caught her eye and Olivia picked it up, turning to look at Rafael.

“Listen, Rafa, I know you wanted to have a romantic New Year’s Eve dinner tomorrow; just the two of us, but after today, I don’t think I can leave Noah alone again.” She chuckled drily. “Poor kid may not go back to school until Valentine’s Day at this rate.”

“I understand and I figured you’d say as much,” he replied, moving closer so they were almost touching. He rubbed one palm nervously on his jeans and pulled the box from his pocket with the other. “So I’m just going to do this now. I’ve waited too long as it is.”

The small frown that creased Olivia’s brow at first, changed to raised eyebrows when she saw the small box in his hand and she pulled in a small breath.

“Rafael — “

He opened it to reveal the ring inside. 

“I’d get down on one knee but after today I don’t think I could get back up.” There was that half smile, used only for her, and she smiled back, feeling tears forming in her eyes. “Olivia Benson, you are the love of my life and I want to spend the rest of mine with you and Noah. Will you marry me?”

Rafael took the ring from the box and slipped it on her finger. It fit perfectly. She wondered how he knew but figured it was just another part of the Barba mystique. Like handkerchiefs and suspenders.

“It’s beautiful.”

“Is that a yes? Because otherwise, I have to take the ring back.” He moved to slide it back off her finger, but she made a fist of her left hand and placed her right on his cheek.

“Of course it’s a yes. Yes, I will marry you, Rafael Barba.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Noah asks a question that leads Olivia and Rafael to tell him about their plans for the future and our newly engaged couple enjoy a little New Year's Eve smut to wrap things up.

The next morning Noah was up at his usual early hour, feeling no after effects from his adventure the day before. Rafael and Olivia, on the other hand, each awoke with a groan as the boy jumped onto their bed with a loud greeting, jostling their sore muscles. After Rafael’s proposal and her acceptance the night before, they celebrated in front of the fireplace and again when they moved to the bedroom. Endorphins and orgasms made them forget about the muscles they’d used skiing for fun and then to bring Noah down the mountain. The light of day was a harsh reminder that neither of them were as young nor as fit as their brains liked to think.

“Noah, why don’t you go watch cartoons for a little while?” Olivia suggested. 

“But I’m huuuuuuungry!” he said. “So are Eddie and Morty.”

Acutely aware she and Rafael were both naked beneath the blankets, his mother said, “Go brush your teeth and I’ll come find you something to eat.”

“Okay! Come on, guys, we’ll brush your teeth too.” Noah bounced off of the bed and dashed out of the room.

“He’s not really going to use his toothbrush on the stuffed animals, is he?” Rafael asked, reaching over and pulling her into arms, ignoring the twinges in his shoulders and back. 

“It’s possible. Therefore, you have to let me get up and get him some food before he does.”

Olivia ran her hand across his bare chest before dropping a kiss on it and rolling away. He caught her left hand and brought it to his lips, kissing the finger where the ring he gave her last night now resided. 

“Come back,” Rafael said, lacing his fingers together behind his head on the pillow, drawing her attention to his biceps.

She pulled on a pair of sleep pants and top that never got worn the night before and headed out of the room, pausing at the door to turn and look back at him with a sultry smirk.

“Can you be quieter this time?”

His response was a sheepish grin. Olivia laughed and made her way downstairs to the small kitchen where she gave Noah a banana, some dry cereal and a glass of milk as he settled in front of the television, Eddie on one side of him and Morty on the other. She made a quick stop in the bathroom to brush her own teeth hoping Rafael had done the same before returning to their bedroom. He was sitting up in bed looking at his phone, still distractingly bare chested and looked up at she entered.

“How much time did you buy us?”

“90 minutes, give or take. We found a Disney movie.”

“Is it one I like?”

“ _ Cars 2 _ .”

He wrinkled his nose. “That’s Pixar and there’s no music.”

“They can’t all be  _ The Princess and the Frog _ .”

Olivia climbed in bed next to him, pleased to discover he hadn’t put on any clothes and caught the scent of minty toothpaste as she plucked the phone from his hand and leaned across him to put it on the nightstand.

********

“Noah, I got the pictures of the moose,” Rafael said.

The three of them were sitting in the living area of the suite, the snow that started the night before still falling off and on. Rafael and Olivia had decided to have a quiet day in after the excitement of the previous one. They’d found a jigsaw puzzle left behind in a closet and the three of them worked that on the dining table for most of the morning, Noah helping in spurts between coloring pictures of Eddie and Morty and playing with a small new Lego set his mother had snuck into her suitcase. After lunch Noah found another movie to watch, Olivia was reading a book and Rafael had reluctantly catching up on some work emails when the text came through.

“Cool! Can I see?” 

The boy got up from the floor where he was sprawled watching television and joined the man who was sitting in an oversized chair. They swiped through the half dozen photos the young woman had taken from the gondola, both of them surprised at the size of the animal; even from above. When they were finished, Noah remained in the chair, half on his lap, a thoughtful look on his face and Rafael wondered what the boy was going to say, because that look was usually followed by something he’d been pondering.

“Yesterday,” Noah said, swiping his small finger across the photos on the phone that Rafael had let him hold, landing on one of the two of them his mother had taken the first day they went skiing, “when Miss Ally said she’d send you the moose pictures she called you my dad. And when Mr. Larry told me you were coming to get me up on the mountain, he said my mom and dad were coming.”

Serious blue eyes looked up into Rafael’s green ones.

“But you’re not my dad. You’re not even my real uncle, are you?”

Rafael’s heart clenched. How was he supposed to answer that question? He glanced over at Olivia who was in the chair opposite his, reading a book. She hadn’t looked up but he could tell by her posture she’d overheard her son’s question. He waited a beat but she clearly wanted to see how he’d handle it.  _ Thanks, mi amor, _ he thought with a silent chuckle,  _ another parenting challenge. _

“If you mean that I’m not your mother’s brother, which would make me your real uncle, then no. Neither is Detective Carisi or Sergeant Tutuola. But you call them uncle. And Detective Rollins isn’t your mother’s sister but you call her Aunt Amanda.”

Noah nodded. So far so good.

“Sometimes, we give people special titles because they’re more important to us than to just call them Mr. or Mrs. or Detective. You don’t have to be related to someone to think of them as family,  _ mijo. _ ”

His gaze flickered to Olivia who gave him an imperceptible nod. He was handling this well it seemed. 

“Is that a special title in Spanish?  _ Mijo? _ ” Noah asked. The man had been calling him that for several months and this was the first time the boy had asked about it.

Rafael swallowed and looked back over to Olivia, who had pushed her glasses onto her head and put her book down; now more invested in the conversation between her son and her fiancé. They had talked about how to tell Noah they were going to get married but it seemed the boy had put the ball firmly in their court sooner than later.

“What does it mean, Uncle Rafa?”

“ _ Mijo  _ means ‘my son’.” 

Green eyes held blue as the boy thought about it and both adults could hear the wheels turning in his young brain.

“So when you call me that, you’re calling me your son? Like you’re my dad?”

Rafael nodded. “Is that okay?”

“Yeah. If I had to pick someone to be my dad, I’d pick you,” Noah told him, snuggling against him a little, the words and gesture tugging at the man’s heart. “You do all the kinds of things dads do. You help me with my homework, you read me stories and you came to get me when Grandma Sheila took me on a vacation without asking.”

Olivia got up from her chair, picked Noah up and took his place beside Rafael, placing the boy across their laps. She wanted to laugh and cry at her son’s words, because while she knew he’d accepted the man into his life as a father figure, she hadn’t realized he had thought about or wanted him to fill that role. 

“You’re right, Noah, Rafa does do all the kinds of things that dads do.” She smoothed his curls and kissed his cheek. “How would you like it if he became your dad for real?”

“For real? How?” the boy’s eyes widened.

“I asked your mom to marry me and she said yes,” Rafael told him. 

“Then once you get married you’ll be my dad?”

“Yes.” Rafael and Olivia exchanged smiles.

“Can I call you Dad?”

“You can call me whatever you want, but Dad would be okay with me,” Rafael said after swallowing the sudden lump of emotion that lodged in his throat. It was one thing for him to think about Noah calling him Dad but to hear the boy say it was another.

“Cool! When are you going to get married? Do I get to be there?”

Olivia laughed. 

“You absolutely get to be there, but we haven’t talked about that yet. He just asked me last night,” she explained.

“Can it be soon?” Noah asked. “So I can start calling Uncle Rafa, Dad?”

Rafael pulled the boy close for a hug, meeting Olivia’s eyes, that were bright with emotion, then put him at arm's’ length to look at it him.

“You don’t have to wait for that. You can start calling me Dad whenever you want.”

Noah tipped his head as he considered this for a moment. “Okay,” he said. Then he slid off their laps, ending the conversation.

Rafael didn’t have to wait long to hear the word. Noah begged to be allowed to stay up until midnight to “see the new year”, even though they told him nothing looked any different when the clock changed from 11:59 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. Olivia got the boy to compromise. He would go to bed and they would wake him shortly before midnight.

“He’s going to be mad if we don’t wake him up,” Rafael said when it was 11:45.

“He’s not going to remember if we don’t,” Olivia countered but got a scoff in reply.

“He’s your son, Liv. He will remember.”

“You just want to be the Yes Parent. But that’s fine. Wake him and then  _ you  _ get try and get him back to sleep after and when he’s still awake at 2 a.m…….” she laughed and sipped her wine.

At 11:55 Rafael went into the boy’s room and laid a hand on his shoulder.

“Noah _ ,”  _ he said softly, “it’s almost midnight.”

Noah’s eyes opened slowly but as soon as he saw Rafael he remembered why he was being awakened and sat up in bed.

“Is it almost the new year?” he asked, his voice rough with sleep. Rafael nodded. 

He carried Noah into the other room where Olivia had dimmed the lights like she used to do when he was a baby and woke up at night to keep him from getting too awake. On the television, the crowd in New York City was counting down:

**_…...8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…….._ **

 

“ Happy New Year, sweet boy,” Olivia said, kissing him on the cheek, then turning into the embrace Rafael offered with his other arm, wrapping her arms around his waist. “Happy New Year, Rafa.”

“Happy New Year, Liv.” 

Their kiss was interrupted by Noah:

“Momma, Dad, look!”

He was pointing out the large window. The moon was full that night, illuminating the mountain in the distance and the air was filled with large, fluffy flakes that hadn’t been a moment before.

“The new year does look different!”

“So it does,  _ mijo, _ ” said Rafael, “so it does.”

He met Olivia’s eyes.  _ He called you Dad,  _ they said.

Rafael nodded and held the two of them a little tighter. He couldn’t think of a better way to start the new year.

Noah went back to sleep easily and while Olivia wanted to be annoyed that Rafael didn’t get the pleasure of dealing with a six year old after midnight, she was also pleased because she had a proposal of her own to make. While Rafael tucked Noah back in bed, she started filling the large jetted tub that had sparked her imagination the first time she saw it.

“Remind me to stop picking him up,” he said with a groan as he entered the bedroom. “Between that and skiing, I don’t suppose you want to rub my ba -- ” 

Olivia was standing in the doorway to the bathroom, clad in only a short silky robe that was loosely belted. Behind her he could see the flicker of candlelight and heard the water running. His gaze took in the sight of her, leaning against the doorframe, from the valley of her breasts visible in the gap of the robe, to the long length of her bare legs below the hem that ended mid thigh. She held up three fingers.

“Bed.” One finger went down.

“Fireplace.” Another one went down.

“We still have the tub.” She crooked the remaining finger at him. 

Rafael crossed the room to stand before her and fingered the belt of her robe, pulling just hard enough to release the loose knot so it fell open, revealing, as he suspected, she wore nothing beneath. He placed his hands on her hips and pulled her forward, so her body was flush against his. He moved his head so their lips were nearly touching. Olivia could feel his breath on her mouth. She thought he was about to kiss her when he said, 

“Are there bubbles?”

Laughter burst from her throat and then he did kiss her, to silence the sound, lest it wake the boy on the first floor. While they kissed, her hands worked to pull his shirt from the waist of his jeans so she could run her hands over his skin beneath. Pulling her mouth from his, she murmured,

“Hmmmm, your back does feel tight. Into the tub, counselor.”

Olivia pulled away from him, slid out of her robe and stepped into the tub, leaving Rafael standing there, still clothed; watching her curves disappear under the water. Quickly stripping out of his clothes he joined her in water that was just a couple degrees higher than comfortable. Immediately his tight muscles began to relax.

“We need one of these,” Olivia sighed, resting her head against the edge of the tub and closing her eyes.

“Agreed.” Rafael reached over and laced his fingers with hers under the water, adjusting himself so that one of the jets was directed at specific spot on his back. Then, 

“You know, we’re going to have to talk about where we’re going to live.”

She opened one eye at him. 

“That’s not exactly what I meant, but yes. We have a lot of things to talk about. But let’s don’t. There’s plenty of time for talking.”

“Okay, we’ll just relax.”

It was quiet in the room for a few minutes with only the sound of the bubbling water.

Then he tugged on her hand to pull her closer.

“I thought you were relaxing?” Olivia asked.

He took hold of her waist and positioned her on his lap, straddling his legs.

“Not all of me.”

They fit together perfectly and before he was lost in the pleasures of Olivia’s body, Rafael realized she was right: there would be plenty of time for talking about the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what started out as a short Secret Santa gift snowballed (no pun intended) into an eight chapter epistle. I hope you have enjoyed this little snapshot from my Barson world of Enchanted. This will be referred to, possibly included in a shorter version when that fic makes it to this time period, which should be in the next chapter or so. If you haven't yet read Enchanted, I would be delighted if you did. I was re-reading some of it the other day and IMO it's pretty darn good.
> 
> As always, thank you for reading!


End file.
